


Speaking in Tongues

by Cr0wdc0ntr01



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Drinks at Lux, F/M, Friendship, It turned mushy at the end, Lucifer speaks all the languages, Show and tell, Slight Deckstar, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 00:02:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14659002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cr0wdc0ntr01/pseuds/Cr0wdc0ntr01
Summary: Once it was an accident. Once it was deliberate. And the final time got out of hand.Lucifer shows off his linguistic skills to the awe of his friends. Light Deckstar toward the end but not an overwhelming theme.





	Speaking in Tongues

**Author's Note:**

> I know what you're going to say... I should be posting in my other story, but honestly I went to see Infinity war (amazing film!) and got sucked back into the vortex that is the Marvel fandom. I tried getting back into Lucifer but this was the only muse that would strike :[  
> However, this is a complete story. So hopefully now that it's complete I can get back to my other works! 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!  
> Oh, also. All the translations are done through Google Translate so please be kind! If there are terrible mistakes you notice and wish to help me fix, I'm always open to helpful criticism :)
> 
> EDIT: Huge thank you to both Eikaron and Farmakognoziya! Both of whom helped me fix mistakes in my German and Russian translations respectively.

The first time it happened the group had found it amusing.

Lucifer had come strutting up to them at a crime scene he hadn’t been called to. A grin on his face, hands in his pockets as he came to a stop beside Chloe.

Chloe had tossed the customary annoyed look, which was more tradition than anything else, at Lucifer. The look only barely covering up her smile at seeing him. Lucifer flashed her his most charming grin, completely unaffected by her look. Meanwhile, Dan and Ella shared a grin at seeing the two partners customary dance begin.

Only, Lucifer forgot his next step. When he opened his mouth his customary greeting didn’t come out. In fact, when he began to speak it wasn’t even English that escaped him.

“안녕하십니까.” He said in greeting. The words rolled smoothly off his tongue and seemed as natural as English to the man. Lucifer’s gaze was locked on their unfortunate victim and so he missed the pole axed expression his friends currently wore. “우리가 여기 무엇을 가지고 있니?” Lucifer said. He looked up expectantly when no one answered his question. **_[Hello there.] [What do we have here?]_**

“That’s so cool, Lucifer!” Ella was the first to burst. She stood from where she’d been crouched next to their victim, a middle aged shop owner who looked to have been killed in a robbery gone wrong. “I didn’t know you could speak another language!” Ella enthused.

Lucifer blinked at her blankly for a moment. Confusion was clear on his face before understanding dawned. “Oh! Terribly sorry! I had no idea I wasn’t speaking English.” Lucifer said somewhat bashfully. Or as bashfully as Lucifer could be.

And normally Chloe would have rolled her eyes and considered this another instance where her partner was merely showing off. Except it had been genuine confusion she’d seen on his face at Ella’s comment before he’d realized.

“Really?” Dan asked with a skeptical frown. “How do you forget you’re not speaking English?” He asked.

Lucifer grinned and thumbed a finger over his shoulder to point back the way he’d come. “Well, I was just speaking to a lovely woman outside, and I’m afraid she didn’t speak any English.” Lucifer explained. “I suppose I simply forgot to switch back. Honestly, you humans have far too many languages for one to keep them all straight.” Lucifer commented, hands returning to his pockets as he rolled on the balls of his feet like an excited school boy.

Chloe shared a look with Dan that was nothing but fond for the six foot grown child beside them.

“What language was it anyhow?” Ella asked excitedly.

“Korean.” Lucifer answered preoccupied, his attention clearly turned away from the conversation and back to the scene at hand. “Well, it’s rather obvious what happened here, isn’t it? Quite boring too.” Lucifer whined, looking over to Chloe.

Chloe merely shrugged. “It looks like an open and shut case, really. We even have a suspect that was apprehended two blocks away.” Chloe admitted. At Lucifer’s pout she felt compelled to continue. “Which is _why_ I _didn’t_ call you.” She reminded him.

Lucifer sighed before nodding his head in understanding.

“Very well. Let me know when we get a case that’s not so boring, won’t you?” Lucifer asked before spinning on his heel and leaving just as quickly as he came.

“I didn’t know Lucifer could speak Korean!” Ella gushed despite the man’s departure. “Do you think it’s just a few phrases or do you think he’s fluent?” Ella wondered.

It was Dan who shrugged and answered her. “I’d imagine he’d have to be fluent in order to forget he was speaking the language.”

“Cool.” Ella grinned. And together the three of them turned back to the crime scene at hand. The incident put aside but not forgotten.

 

-    0   -

 

The second time it happened, Lucifer was actually called to a crime scene. He’d ridden with Chloe and the two of them had arrived to find Ella and Dan already taking the scene in.

“Hey Dan,” Chloe greeted as both her and Lucifer walked into the house turned crime scene. “What’ve we got?” Chloe asked.

“Hey guys,” Dan greeted with a nod to both of them. “Victims a 33 year old female, name of Irene Sokolov. Husband called it in, but we’ve not been able to get much out of the guy.” Dan explained, reading off his notes.

“Preliminary cause of death looks like strangulation. Ligature marks are thin, so I’d say we’re looking at maybe some kind of wire or a cord.” Ella pipped up from her position by the body. The young tech turned her face upward to flash first Chloe and then Lucifer a smile.

“Where’s the husband?” Chloe asked once she had a good look around the crime scene.

“He’s in the next room over.” Dan jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the direction. “But you won’t get much out of him. Guy seems to be in shock and he’s babbling in what we think is Russian.”

Chloe sighed. “Alright, you call a translator?”

“We’re waiting on the department to find us one.” Dan replied with a shrug.

“Well that won’t do.” Lucifer announced with a frown.

“We don’t have a Russian translator on call, Lucifer.” Dan explained. “It’ll take a little bit of time before we can track one down.” He added with an apologetic shrug to Chloe. 

“Lucky for you, you don’t need a translator.” Lucifer smiled his usual devilish grin. He’d turned and waltzed into the next room before anyone could say anything in response.

Chloe, Dan and even Ella followed him through, curious to what the quirky and often spontaneous man intended. By the time they’d gotten in there Lucifer had clearly made his introductions and was listening intently as the victim’s husband babbled.

Chloe sighed at the foreign language coming from Mr Sokolov’s lips. What Lucifer had hoped to achieve, she didn’t know. She was just moving to separate her partner from the clearly distraught man but froze when Lucifer began to speak.

“да, да.” Lucifer waved his hand dismissively. “Расскажи мне Mr Sokolov, что вы действительно желаете, hm?” Lucifer questioned, a sly grin spreading on his face. **_[Yes, yes.] [Tell me Mr Sokolov, what is it you really want, hm?]_**

“я- я-,” Mr Sokolov stuttered. **_[I-I-]_**

Neither Chloe, Dan nor Ella could speak Russian, but all three could make more than an educated guess given how flustered and confused Mr Sokolov looked. Especially given how many times they’d seen Lucifer do this trick to other people.

“Продолжай, ты можешь сказать мне.” Lucifer urged with his too wide smile. The man’s eyes glazed over and Lucifer had him. **_[Go on, you can tell me.]_**

“Я хочу Кэндис!” Mr Sokolov blurted. **_[I want Candice!]_**

“Кэндис? Кто такАя Кэндис?” **_[Candice? Who’s Candice?]_**

“Мой стажер. Она такая красивая и молодая.” Mr Sokolov had a leer on his face even while his eyes remained dreamy. **_[My intern. She’s so young and beautiful.]_**

Chloe knew the glazed unfocused look in the husband’s eyes meant her partner had the man fully under his thrall. Looking back to her partner she was surprised to see Lucifer tense, his eyes burning with barely concealed disgust.

“Неужели сейчас?” And even speaking another language, Lucifer somehow managed to purr the words out. “Вот почему ты убил свою жену? Для Кэндис?” He questioned. **_[Really now?] [Is that why you killed your wife? For Candice?]_**

“Ирен узнала.” Mr Sokolov shrugged. “У меня не было выбора. Я должен был это сделать для Кэндис.” **_[Irene knew] [I had no choice. I had to do it, for Candice.]_**

“Она была твоей женой.” Lucifer sneered as he took a step back from the man. In doing so he released Mr Sokolov from his thrall. “У тебя был выбор.” Lucifer spat before turning away. **_[She was your wife] [You had a choice]_**

Chloe, Dan and Ella watched as Lucifer’s eyes found them. He walked over and left Mr Sokolov who was now crying bitterly into his hands.

“Lucifer?” Chloe asked carefully as her partner came to a stop beside her. She could read the fury written into her partner’s carefully controlled movements.

“Arrest him.” Lucifer bit out. “He killed his wife.”

The three of them gaped at Lucifer for a moment.

It was Dan who finally unfroze first in order to speak. Although, really how far he’d managed to unfreeze his brain was up for debate since the first words he managed to blurt out were; “What? Really? Are you sure?”

Lucifer turned a withering gaze on him. “Yes, Daniel, I’m quite sure.” Lucifer said, dryly. He turned to Chloe. “He just confessed to me.” He told her while straightening the lapels of his suit jacket.

“Oh. Okay.” Chloe agreed with a nod, trying to hide her surprise. “Did he say anything else?” Chloe asked curiously.

“Apparently there was a mistress. A woman by the name of Candice, one of his interns. Mrs Sokolov found out and that coward over there killed her for it.” Lucifer sneered over in the direction of their new suspect.

“Alright. Thank you, Lucifer.” Chloe said while putting a hand onto his arm. The touch was a way to show thanks just as much as it was a comforting one. If there was one thing Chloe knew about Lucifer, it was that he despised betrayal. And a man killing his wife over his own infidelity would look like nothing else to Lucifer. “Dan could you,” Chloe nodded in the direction of Mr Sokolov.

“Yeah. Yeah of course.” Dan agreed instantly. He turned and hurried to arrest the still weeping man.

“Come on, we’ll need you to give a statement on everything that was said.” Chloe told Lucifer before pulling him from the room.

Ella fell into step beside the two of them. She was staring wide eyed up at Lucifer with a huge grin on her face. The moment they passed from the room into the next, Ella slapped Lucifer playfully on the shoulder. “Dude!” She exclaimed.

All three of them paused. Lucifer turning a confused look onto Ella.

“You speak Korean _and_ Russian?” Ella asked in amazement. She was practically bouncing up and down in her excitement.

Lucifer flashed her a weak smile but he was still clearly out of sorts. “Yes, indeed I do.” Lucifer agreed.

Ella’s enthusiasm leveled off as she picked up on his subdued behavior. “That’s really awesome.” She told him with a soft smile. “Alright.” Ella nodded mostly to herself. “I should get back and finish processing the crime scene.” And with that she was off.

Chloe led Lucifer back to her cruiser.

The topic of Lucifer’s linguistic ability was once again dropped. But none of the three present could help but think it over in the backs of their minds.

 

 

-    0   -

 

The third time Lucifer displayed his skills wasn’t at work at all.

Chloe, Lucifer, Dan, Ella and, surprisingly, Maze, were all sat at Lux enjoying a quiet drink. The club hadn’t opened yet despite it being nearly eight o’clock. And from the unhurried way the group were sipping at their drinks it seemed that it might be some time before it opened yet.

The group had gathered for a celebratory drink after catching a killer and stopping one of the worst crime sprees to come to LA in a long time. The case had been long and had required a near inhuman effort from all of them in order to solve it. In fact, Lucifer had even called Maze in to offer assistance in tracking down leads from some less savory sources.

In the end, they’d got their man. After two long weeks of hard work they all deserved a drink. And so Lucifer had generously offered drinks back at Lux, on the house of course. That had gotten a resounding yes from all the group. Even Dan and Chloe, who had felt bad for neglecting their daughter so much, had agreed to come. If only to have a drink and put this case to bed once and for all before making up for lost time with their daughter.

The group enjoyed quiet chatter amongst themselves, joking and laughing, back-grounded by the low music filling Lux up. The staff kept the drinks coming but other than that seemed content to merely continue prepping for the night out of sight.

Their relative peace was interrupted when Dan’s phone began to ring. He pulled it from his pocket and after offering a quick apology to the group, answered it.

“Hola mama,” Dan said into the phone. He paused for a moment before sighing. “Sí. Sí lo siento. Estaba ocupado con el trabajo.” Dan sighed. Dan offered the group another apologetic smile. He listened intently for several moments before replying again. **_[Hi mom] [Yes. Yes I’m sorry. I was busy with work]_**

“No mamá. No hay nada malo. Chloe y Trixie están bien. He estado ocupado con el trabajo.” Dan rattled off. “Mira, estoy afuera con algunos amigos. Te llamaré mañana por la mañana. Envíale mi amor a papá Bien, adiós mamá. También te amo.” And with that Dan hung up his phone. **_[No Mom. Nothing’s wrong. Chloe and Trixie are fine. I’ve just been busy with work.] [Look, I’m out with some friends. I’ll call you tomorrow morning. Send my love to Dad. Alright, love you to Mom]_**

Dan turned to the others, a sheepish apology on his lips only to be interrupted.

“No tenía idea de que nos consideraras amigos, Daniel.” Lucifer said with a wide grin. **_[I had no idea you considered us friends, Daniel]_**

Dan let out a snort of laughter. “No dejes que vaya a tu cabeza, hombre.” He replied automatically. It took him several long seconds to realise neither he nor Lucifer were speaking English. **_[Don’t let it go to your head, man]_**

“¡¿Hablas español tambien?!” It was Ella who managed to speak what they were all thinking first. **_[You speak Spanish too?!]_**

“Naturalmente.” Lucifer said with a grin. “Although, I think the good Detective would prefer it if we switched back to English.” Lucifer added with a smile in Chloe’s direction. **_[Naturally]_**

Chloe was shaking her head. A fond smile had worked its way onto her face, helped by the alcohol. “Is there any language you don’t speak?” She asked with a laugh.

None of them were expecting Lucifer to actually turn contemplating at the question. “Well,” He mused. “My Yiddish is probably more than a little rusty. Right, Maze?” Lucifer turned to his friend.

“מער ווי עס קלאָר סאַקס.” Maze drawled with a sly grin. **_[More like it sucks]_**

“Well, that’s hardly very nice, Mazikeen.” Lucifer grumbled with a playful frown in her direction. “What was that last word? I can’t tell if it’s sucks or socks? I mean, I’d assume it would be-”

“Wait! Hang on a minute.” Dan interrupted Lucifer mid babble. He, as well as Chloe and Ella, were staring at the pair with a look of utter bewilderment. “Are you telling me that was Yiddish?” Dan asked with a frown.

Lucifer stared at Dan in a way that told everyone present he was quite clearly re-evaluating Dan’s intelligence. And not for the better. “Yes, Daniel. Or at least, that’s what was implied.” He turned to look at Chloe. “Honestly, how can he be called a detective?” Lucifer asked but there was a teasing tone to his words that took any malice from them.

Chloe swatted his arm on principal all the same, even if there was an amused smile on her lips.

“But seriously, dude.” Ella butted in, eager to get them back on track. “How many languages can you speak?” She asked.

Lucifer frowned in her direction. “Well, all of them, my dear Ms Lopez.”

“What about Arabic?” Ella asked.

“بالتاكيد” Lucifer answered with an amused smile. **_[Of course]._**

“And Swedish?” Dan asked eagerly, beginning to look just as curious as Ella.

“Det är ett språk. Så ja.” Lucifer rolled his eyes. **_[It’s a language. So yes.]_**

“Can you speak German?” Chloe finally decided to input. She was smiling at Lucifer in amazement. Here was another of her partner’s impossible quirks. One day, Chloe swore she’d get him to tell her the truth behind it all.

“Natürlich, Detective.” Lucifer gave her a grin. “I’m the devil, you know? I need to be able to speak to the damned in order to punish them.” **_[Naturally, Detective]_**

“Right of course.” Chloe agreed with a role of her eyes.

“What about Greek?” Ella asked quickly, cutting off any response Lucifer might have made at Chloe’s skepticism.

 

What followed was Chloe, Ella and Dan calling out the names of different languages, waiting for Lucifer to say something in the requested language before trying to think of another. After a while, and a few more drinks, they began to call out languages they’d already tried. Lucifer found himself not bothering to point this fact out as he smiled and indulgently spoke in whatever language they said.

Mazikeen watched in amusement for a while before growing bored. She slipped from the booth to go see if Patrick, her favorite bartender, was around.

The mini interrogation slash show and tell didn’t end until Ella blurted out in a slightly slurred voice; “What about Klingon? Can you speak Klingon?”

Lucifer blinked, taken aback for the first time. “Can I speak what?”

“You know,” Ella waved her hands around rather floppily. “Klingon.” She said instead of offering any real explanation.

“I don’t even know what that is.” Dan slurred from beside her. “What is that?” He asked, squinting at her.

Lucifer smiled but it wasn’t his usual wide toothed smile. It was a soft expression reserved only for friends and loved ones. One that hadn’t seen much use over the millennia, but was beginning to become more and more regularly used.

Lucifer was pulled from his thoughts as suddenly there was a new weight pressed against his side. Looking down, he was surprised to see Chloe leaning against him. He raised his arm and draped it across her shoulder all the same. In response, Chloe merely cuddled closer to him.

“I don’t think it’s a real language.” Chloe admitted in a slurred, amused whisper.

Lucifer nodded his head, smiling down at her. Although Chloe probably couldn't see given that her head was tucked against his shoulder, just under his chin.

“No. I suspect not.” Lucifer agreed just in case. They sat in silence for several moments, listening as Ella and Dan’s playful bickered grew more and more nonsensical.

“Lucifer?” Chloe breathed. She sounded as though she were beginning to dose against him. A fact that Lucifer had little want to rectify.

“Yes?”

“Can you really speak any language?”

“Hmm, it’s the way my Father made us.” Lucifer agreed. He blinked in surprise at his own words. Normally he’d never have admitted such a thing. Clearly drinking alcohol while sitting next to the one human that made him vulnerable had an unforeseen effect.

“Us?” Chloe questioned curiously.

“His first born. The arch-angels.” Lucifer explained before he could stop himself.

Chloe hummed in response. “That’s nice.” She murmured sleepily. “Like you being an angel.” Chloe added.

Lucifer felt something hard in his chest even as his eyes burned. Not hot with rage as was so common but instead with the sting of tears. “I’m not His angel, Chloe. Not anymore.” Lucifer forced the words out past the strange tightness in his throat.

“No.” Chloe agreed. Her breathing was slowing and Lucifer just knew she was on the very cusp of falling asleep. “My angel.” Chloe said and Lucifer felt his heart freeze in his chest even as Chloe snuggled closer against him. “My Devil.” She sighed before growing still.

And really, what was Lucifer to say to that?

For all the languages he spoke and the countless responses he could have given, there was only one that mattered in the end.

“Yes.” He murmured pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Yours.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: When Lucifer asks Maze if the last word is sucks or sock in Yiddish, it's actually because Google translate couldn't translate suck so I kept getting sock instead. 
> 
> Why does Deckstar just sneak up on me when I least expect it? My story was invaded before I even realized it was happening. *sigh* Anyway, let me know what you thought :)


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